VW Fall 2011 Allocation Actual Tasting Discussion

OK, so we've got a thread talking about the when/where/why of the actual shipments. I want to hear from people who have actually tasted the stuff.

It seems the current allocation arrived in Chicago quite recently, and thanks to a good friend, I was able to nab a bottle of the VWFRR and 10/107 this evening.

Now it seems there are several important discussions:

(1) The OBVIOUS: compare "BT" PVW15 to "SW" PVW 15. Poor "BT" PVW15, he never had a chance, I know. But this shit has been out for a while and all we have is one lousy freaking tasting note on the new stuff? I expect the consensus to be "it ain't as good." But given that there are so many here that think the "SW" of years recent had at least some BT in there, we should be able to make some interesting comparisons. For those who have been saying, ad nauseam, "that ain't 100% SW," now that we know it ain't SW AT ALL, how does this relate to / affect / cause you to revise your pronouncements? Or does it just show you was right all along?

(2) VWFRR. I found some deadstock a few weeks ago -- owner confirmed it was from 2010 but probably earlier. The bottle I got today had a LOWER number. And no, I'm not going to look for a bottle code. I get that the handwritten numbers on the VW bottles are probably just there to fuck with our brains but (A) are the VWs just doing shit in reverse chronological order ? (B) why are we so whiskey-whipped that we sit here speculating about their impervious number schemes (with flashlights!) as if they MEAN anything. And yeah, I think whiskey-whipped is a good adjective, as is it's sexist analog ("pussy-whipped," for those of you living under large rocks) because it does describe an actual phenomenon. The whole point is: does your obsession cause you to act stupid? And when it comes to these codes and the other thing I mentioned, the answer is, relative to a lot of us (including me a lot of the time!): yes.

ANYWAY, NEWS FLASH: This 2011 VWFRR is awesome. I have RAZOR BLADES strapped to my arms, so stay away from me, I will steal it all from all of you. Or if not, I know where your "bunkers" are, and none of you have those laser light security systems (except for probably Hectic1, he probably has deadly booby traps). So watch out.

(3) PVW 20. No need to discuss. It's great. Buy it if you can afford it. Expensive but worth it. Nice golf scene on the back. Quaint, but that dog caddy BS basically proves that Pappy was brilliant in many other ways, i.e., dude was a comedian, and shows that the "gravitas" of that cigar smoking label pose shizzle was imbued with well-played irony. Is the "dog" a "caddy" because he thinks caddies are dogs? In other words, is it just a really classist/racist joke about oppression? The little people are dogs, or caddies are dogs? Or is it about how Pappy is so freaking cheap he can't afford or refuses to pay for a real caddy? Or is it just that it's really, really goddamn funny and also amazing that dude is so cool that his dog will be his caddy?!? That the dog is his friend, and LOVES him so much that he'll carry the clubs out of loyalty and friendship ...

Clearly you know the latter is where I'm at.

There needs to be more humor in bourbon. And less manipulative bullshit nostalgia.

(4) PVW 23. Buy it if you're rich. Probably really good but utterly unnecessary. Are you rich enough to pay a hot chick to lick your butt or do what your wife won't? OK, take some $$$ out of your whore budget for PWV 23.

Now, keep in mind there's nothing wrong with elites, per se. After all, the most prolific posters on this site are "the 1%" when it comes to bourbon knowledge. Being the 1% of KNOWLEDGE is awesome ... and we all know that spending $200+ for overaged PVW is stupid relative to the other options. So, yep. Knowledge is power and whatnot. Any Pappy 23 purchasers care to defend your dumb purchase?

Oh, I've never drunk it. Or drank it. But I would steal it. Just FYI, old dudes without security systems on their bunkers.

(5) Lot B. I call it "Plan B." Basically, it's Van Winkle #1 (doesn't matter which one it is), "Look, Dad (or Son) people will buy shit with our name on it, and pay a premium, even if it's not that that good!" These dudes need to pay their kids' college tuition, etc. SW is closed, folks -- closed! Can you believe it? These guys, nice as they are, can't ring blood or wine from a distillery that's been -- seriously-- closed for nearly 20 years. Closed, folks. How the last allocation of 15 was SW still boggles my mind. It makes me want to get all John Cleese on y'all.

Y'all are the pet shop owner. I am John Cleese with the dead parrot. You are trying to tell me that the dead bird, i.e. SW, is "just resting." I'm saying, "IT IS NO MORE. IT IS AN EX-DISTILLERY." You're saying, "Well, just maybe SW can keep putting out bourbon after it closed," and I'm pointing at the dead parrot / distillery at the bottom of the cage, stinking up the room.

So now the EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES. I'm saying, "But he has nothing on" and Hansell is saying "the 15 is the best of the bunch" and we have just one other tasting note on the 15 and it ain't pretty.

Meanwhile, the VW frenzy is at full tilt, and those outside our little bubble are pouncing on the Lot B like it's even remotely related to the legendary SW juice in any substantial way whatsoever ...

What's sad to me is shouldn't there be an explosion of talk about this new allocation ... ?!?! Now that we actually have confirmation from these notorious obfuscators have confirmed that the final threads of the Emperor's clothes have now disappeared? Is this the end? I thought Julian said: Pappy on the label = SW. "We'll change the bottle when it's not SW." Did I hallucinate that? I mean: seriously. I really do want to know. Does this bloke think he can just lie about this family crap just as the shopkeeper lies about the dead parrot? I realize I'm flipping my metaphor on you (first the SW groupies were the shopkeeper, now it's Julian), but I think it's just as apt either way. Julian did tell someone, somewhere, that he wouldn't put Pappy on the label if it wasn't SW (or someone deviously misquoted him) ... and then, oops! -- he did. So why is no one calling him on it? Are the posts on this site suggesting he said as much fabricated or inaccurate? Or did Julian change his tune?

Anyway, Lot B is crap, and has been for a long time. HE HAS NOTHING ON.

(6) ORVW 10/107. Wow. This tastes NOTHING at all like prior incarnations. I've heard that this one is sort of like the women I used to date (and love!): utterly inconsistent, occasionally seductive and mind-blowing but often just incoherent. I sort of like the new stuff, but I sort of miss the old stuff. I'd act like caring about where it came from or why it tastes different were something I could actually learn, but, well, I'm no longer that naive.

* * *

So anyway, please, please open some bottles and talk about them. We talk so bloody much about where they're going yet the utter dearth of tasting notes suggest you all are pathetic hoarders. Drink it, and please talk about it.

Re: VW Fall 2011 Allocation Actual Tasting Discussion

I'd be every bit as happy with a bottle of Weller 12 as I am with a Lot B. OWA107 is almost as a good as ORVW107 - certainly both are essentially half as good (and half the price).

The Pappy 15 still holds a sweet spot for me, but it aint what it used to be. I don't pretend to know if if it's BT, SW, or Colonel Sanders in the bottle. I just know I really like it, but I don't like it as much as I used to. This year's bottles are brilliant, but not like 3-5 years ago. Kind of like comparing *anything* to Weller Centennial - it may be good, but you know there's something just >thatmuch< better.

My issue isn't with the BT juice per se - I don't mind it, but with the pricing/scarcity OF the BT juice. The Weller stuff was/is amazing... but the BT stuff is just good. Still a darn fine wheated whiskey, but it's not legendary and/or worth camping out overnight at my liquor store for.

That said, in terms of the VWFRR, all bets are off - I've got a healthy, first-born male child to swap if anybody is interested!*